Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jan;39(1):75-80.
doi: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.12.001. Epub 2011 Jan 13.

The Severe 5%: A Latent Class Analysis of the Externalizing Behavior Spectrum in the United States

Michael G Vaughn  1 , Matt Delisi, Tracy Gunterbh, Qiang Fu, Kevin M Beaver, Brian E Perron, Matthew O Howard
Affiliations

The Severe 5%: A Latent Class Analysis of the Externalizing Behavior Spectrum in the United States

Michael G Vaughn et al. J Crim Justice. 2011 Jan.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Criminological research consistently demonstrates that approximately 5% of study populations are comprised of pathological offenders who account for a preponderance of antisocial behavior and violent crime. Unfortunately, there have been no nationally representative epidemiological studies characterizing the severe 5% group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a nationally representative sample of 43,093 non-institutionalized U.S. residents aged 18 years and older were analyzed using latent class analysis to assess sociodemographic, psychiatric, and behavioral characteristics. RESULTS: Four-classes of respondents were identified vis-à-vis lifetime externalizing behaviors. A normative class (66.1% of respondents) demonstrated little involvement in antisocial conduct. A low substance use/high antisocial behavior class (20.7% of respondents) and high substance use/moderate antisocial behavior (8.0% of respondents) class evinced diverse externalizing and psychiatric symptoms. Finally, a severe class (5.3% of respondents) was characterized by pathological involvement in more varied and intensive forms of antisocial and externalizing behaviors and extensive psychiatric disturbance. CONCLUSIONS: The current study is the first nationally representative epidemiological study of criminal careers/externalizing behavior spectrum in the United States and validates the existence of the 5% pathological group demonstrated by prior research.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Lifetime Prevalence of 34 Externalizing Behaviors (N = 43, 093).
Figure 2
Figure 2
BIC Values Across Latent Classes.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Entropy Values Across Latent Classes.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Trends in Log-Likelihood Values Across Latent Classes.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Probability of Four Latent Classes with and without Covariates.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Lifetime Prevalences of 34 Externalizing Behaviors Across 4 Latent Classes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4. Washington, DC: Author; 2000. Text revision.
    1. Berg MT, DeLisi M. Do career criminals exist in rural America? Journal of Criminal Justice. 2005;33:317–325.
    1. Blackburn AG, Trulson CR. Sugar and spice and everything nice? Exploring institutional misconduct among serious and violent female delinquents. Journal of Criminal Justice. 2010 doi: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.09.001. - DOI
    1. Blanco C, Grant J, Petry NM, Simpson HB, Alegria A, Liu SM, Hasin D. Prevalence and correlates of shoplifting in the United States: Results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) American Journal of Psychiatry. 2008;165:905–913. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brame R, Mazerolle P, Piquero AR. Criminal career progression among serious youthful offenders in Australia. Journal of Criminal Justice. 2010;38:340–347.

LinkOut - more resources